Graduate Programs

Wayne Shorter to Perform at Global Jazz Summit April 25

By

Nick Balkin

April 6, 2011

Wayne Shorter

The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) celebrates its one-year anniversary as guest NEA Jazz Master Wayne Shorter sits in to perform with BGJI faculty Danilo Pérez, Joe Lovano, Terri Lyne Carrington, and John Patitucci, and BGJI students in a tribute to Shorter's legendary musical career. The concert takes place Monday, April 25, 8:15 p.m. at the Berklee Performance Center (BPC), 136 Massachusetts Avenue, in Boston. Tickets are $20, $15 reserved seating and are available online through ticketmaster.com. For more information, call 617 747-2261 or visit berkleebpc.com. The BPC is wheelchair-accessible.

The concert kicks off Berklee's Global Jazz Summit for Humanity and Peace, April 25-27. On Tuesday, April 26, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts' Remis Auditorium, Shorter will present a screening of The Fountainhead, and then discuss the film's influence on his music and creative process. Wednesday, April 27, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Boston Public Library's Rabb Lecture Hall, Shorter, Pérez, and Patitucci will teach a master class. All events are open to the public.

Shorter's visit will be supported by NEA Jazz Masters Live, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with Arts Midwest that celebrates the living legends who have made exceptional contributions to the advancement of jazz. For more information, visit neajazzmasters.org.

"The Berklee Global Jazz Institute's mission and commitment to interconnected learning is inspiring," says Shorter, who encourages young musicians to "experience life and go beyond what music is."

The Berklee Global Jazz Institute, under the artistic direction of renowned pianist Danilo Pérez, is a unique focused area of study at the college where some of the world's finest young jazz players concentrate on creativity and musicianship while maintaining active performance schedules in the community. For more information, visit berklee.edu/focused/global-jazz.

Shorter is commonly regarded as one of the most important American jazz musicians of his generation and jazz's greatest living composer. Shorter's output within the field has earned worldwide recognition, critical praise, and various commendations, including multiple Grammy Awards. The virtuoso has recorded over 20 albums as a leader, and appeared on dozens more with others including Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s, Miles Davis's second great quintet in the 1960s and the jazz fusion band Weather Report, which Shorter co-led in the 1970s. Many of his compositions have become standards. Shorter formed his current band in 2000, the first permanent acoustic group under his leadership, with pianist Danilo Pérez, bassist John Patitucci, and drummer Brian Blade. Two albums of live recordings featuring this quartet have been released, Footprints Live! (2002) and the Grammy Award-winning Beyond the Sound Barrier (2005).